Chapter 2 Test Bank
The first 5 questions are available for students to test themselves on the companion website: https://study.sagepub.com/piekkola
1) When one systematically studies being or existence one is dealing with the branch of metaphysics called _____________.
a. ontology
b. agrology
c. cosmology
d. agronomy
Answer: a. ontology
2) The metaphysical position that is concerned with existence and which differentiates between appearance and reality is ______________.
a. epistemology
b. existentialism
c. ontology
d. ideology
Answer: c. ontology
3) One of the branches of metaphysics is epistemology. Which of the following is its subject matter?
a. the study of being or existence
b. the study of knowing or knowledge
c. the study of living forms
d. the study of logic or logical forms
Answer: b. the study of knowing or knowledge
4) A person who takes the position called _____________ is at pains to explain the phenomena of one domain, e.g.,
psychology, by using the laws and concepts of another domain, e.g., biology or physics.
a. holism
b. reductionism
c. phenomenalism
d. determinism
Answer: b. reductionism
5) A person who takes the position called _____________ proposes explaining complex phenomena in terms of more basic, or lower-level, phenomena, e.g., explaining thought with quantum atomic theory.
a. holism
b. reductionism
c. phenomenalism
d. determinism
Answer: b. reductionism
6) According to the position known as ______________, living beings have properties that cannot be explained through reduction down to elementary parts.
a. holism
b. transcendentalism
c. emergentism
d. vitalism
Answer: a. holism
7) While one can distinguish between the nervous, respiratory, circulatory, and other systems, to treat any of them in complete isolation would leave the organism and its individual systems no longer viable. In proposing that, I am likely advocating ______________.
a. holism
b. transcendentalism
c. emergentism
d. vitalism
Answer: a. holism
8) In ontology, ____________ is that which is presented to an observer whereas _________ is the totality of things that are considered to be real and which may be inconsistent with what is presented.
a. reality, appearance
b. appearance, reality
c. phenomenology, actuality
d. actuality, phenomenology
Answer: b. appearance, reality
9) To some the impression of possessing free will, an example of ________, is inconsistent with the fact (empirical evidence) that brain mechanisms produce both the action thought to be willed and the idea that one will it, which is an example of _________.
a. reality, appearance
b. appearance, reality
c. phenomenology, actuality
d. actuality, phenomenology
Answer: b. appearance, reality
10) The pursuit of truth through the use of reason is called ______________.
a. idealism
b. logic
c. cognitivism
d. rationalism
Answer: d. rationalism
11) According to the British empiricists, ideas were ______________.
a. innate
b. both innate and acquired
c. derived from experience
d. arrived at by logical deduction
Answer: c. derived from experience
12) The _________ believed that sensory experience is the only means whereby knowledge is acquired.
a. rationalist
b. nativist
c. empiricist
d. romantic
Answer: c. empiricist
13) The epistemological position that maintains that all that is known is based upon experience is which of the following?
a. logical positivism
b. determinism
c. realism
d. empiricism
Answer: d. empiricism
14) People who advocate __________ propose that the world exists independently of individual people and it can be known.
a. realism
b. empiricism
c. rationalism
d. existentialism
Answer: a. realism
15) When a person holds that the objects of experience do not exist independently of mind, i.e., that what is real are my perceptions of an object not the object itself, the person is espousing the position known as __________.
a. anti-realism
b. objectivism
c. transcendentalism
d. empiricism
Answer: a. anti-realism
16) According to the view called ______. There is no objective standard for truth, that what is true varies from group to group and from person to person.
a. indeterminism
b. determinism
c. relativism
d. cynicism
Answer: c. relativism
17) According to ____________, there is no real, objective world that is the basis of true knowledge. Instead, within science, knowledge is created by the scientists pursuing it.
a. rationalism
b. constructionism
c. relativism
d. nihilism
Answer: b. constructionism
18) An advocate of ____________ takes the position that the possibility of gaining objective knowledge can be doubted, or, at least, not believed.
a. relativism
b. speculativism
c. skepticism
d. incredulism
Answer: c. skepticism
19) The epistemological position known as __________ holds that all beliefs can be proven to be wrong.
a. skepticism
b. cynicism
c. relativism
d. absolutism
Answer: a. skepticism
20) The theoretical position known as __________ maintains the proposition that ideas are the objects of knowledge rather than those things that produce the ideas. It involves a description of experience rather than the “thing” experienced.
a. phenomenology
b. representationalism
c. isomorphism
d. epiphenomenalism
Answer: a. phenomenology
21) ______________ is the branch of philosophy that has as its concern the ultimate nature of things or first principles.
a. foundationism
b. ontology
c. metaphysics
d. existentialism
Answer: c. metaphysics
22) An upholder of _________ believes that the scientific method, and the knowledge obtained thereby, are the only acceptable means of inquiry and the only valid meanings to adhere to are those derived by such means.
a. scientism
b. empiricism
c. verificationism
d. experimentationalism
Answer: a. scientism
23) According to this proposition (___________________), no matter how objective observations are they are initiated by theories.
a. theory laden
b. constructionism
c. theoretical events
d. rationalism
Answer: a. theory laden
24) Objects in the world organize into categories (groups based on shared properties), like rocks and rivers, because of their inherent characteristics, independent of any human assessment. These would be considered ________ kinds.
a. native
b. natural
c. material
d. physical
Answer: b. natural
25) Kings and peasants, conservatives and psychopaths, are examples of _______ kinds. They are categories or concepts that are artificial in that they are produced by the interests and understanding of people and are subject to change.
a. hominin
b. mental
c. human
d. anthropomorphic
Answer: c. human
26) The tendency of some psychologists to assume that the use of psychological terms like “memory” by the ancient Greeks are the same as current usage fails to consider how the concept can be affected by the historical context (despite the similar terminology). Those psychologists who assumed consistency between past and current usage were displaying what is called ___________.
a. parochialism
b. parsimony
c. percipience
d. presentism
Answer: d. presentism
27) A rather magical view held by some early humans was ________________. People who held to this believed that rocks, trees, the wind and rivers, everything, was alive.
a. vitalism
b. animism
c. spiritism
d. gnosticism
Answer: b. animism
28) When a person treats non-humans (dog or cars for instance) as though they were human or had human attributes (like a car having a personality), they were engaging in a type of thinking known as __________.
a. vitalism
b. homo sapienism
c. deism
d. anthropomorphism
Answer: d. anthropomorphism
29) According to the philosophical belief associated with ____________, all that exists is only what the different sciences study.
a. naturalism
b. the verification principle
c. naïve realism
d physicalism
Answer: a. naturalism
30) Whether one is a materialist or an idealist one is dealing with what is termed ____________. This is because matter or mind, as primary and dependent on nothing for their own existence, are considered to be that which underlies all other phenomena.
a. essentialism
b. nativism
c. substance
d. foundation
Answer: c. substance
31) In his theory, Berkeley proposed that all that is experienced in the world beyond the senses as objective is actually of spirit or mind, because it is God’s perception, rather than matter (there is no matter). Which of the following applies to this proposition?
a. monism
b. realism
c. obscurantism
d. skepticism
Answer: a. monism
32) Any doctrine, regarding the nature of reality and first principles, that proposes that reality is due to two completely opposed, primordial cosmic forces would be an example of which of the following?
a. monism
b. demonism
c. polarism
d. dualism
Answer: d. dualism
33) If a theory, such as Popper and Eccles proposed, claims that the universe is composed of three substances——matter, mind, and culture——it would best represent which of the following?
a. eclecticism
b. pluralism
c. pantheism
d. transcendentalism
Answer: b. pluralism
34) According to Heraclitus, in his concept of ________, nothing in the universe is static and unchanging, since everything is in the process of undergoing alteration.
a. epiphenomebnalism
b. becoming
c. relativism
d. entelechy
Answer: b. becoming
35) According to the Greek concept of ___________, that which is unchanging, permanent and fixed is that which can be known with certainty.
a. being
b. entelechy
c. form
d. agnosticism
Answer: a. being
36) The proposition that the ultimate reality of the universe must be conceived of in terms of mind or spirit is called _______________.
a. structuralism
b. idealism
c. rationalism
d. dualism
Answer: b. idealism
37) Which of the following comes closest to being reductionism?
a. phenomenology
b. determinism
c. elementalism
d. epiphenomenalism
Answer: c. elementalism
38) A person who maintains the view called ___________ believes that one can understand complex processes by studying the pieces that they are composed of.
a. redundancy
b. monism
c. atomism
d. elementalism
Answer: d. elementalism
39) According to Democritus, all things are composed of tiny parts (the most basic building blocks of the universe) that could not be altered and were indivisible. These he called ____________.
a. substance
b. element
c. atom
d. physic
Answer: c. atom
40) Mechanism, in psychology, refers to the belief that ______________.
a. the universe is a machine
b. the behavior of organisms is based upon mechanical laws
c. everything is determined by what precedes it
d. none of the above
Answer: b. the behavior of organisms is based upon mechanical laws
41) According to the doctrine of _______, an event is completely explainable in terms of that which goes before it.
a. objectivism
b. rationalism
c. empiricism
d. determinism
Answer: d. determinism
42) Whereas atomism is reductionistic, except at the level of physics and chemistry, ___________ may involve an analysis into constituent parts, parts that exist at the level of what they are parts of and do not involve reduction, for example neurons are elements of the nervous system but both are biological.
a. elementalism
b. physicalism
c. materialism
d. categorization
Answer: a. elementalism
43) Dr. X has been known to say one thing to one person and another thing to another, e.g., saying to one that science is a falsity and to another that it is the basis of understanding. With each person he presents an argument that is effective for that audience but without believing in truth. Such deceptive argumentation is an example of a ___________ strategy.
a. solipsist
b. skeptic
c. sophist
d. relativist
Answer: c. sophist
44) An advocate of ____________ takes the position that the possibility of gaining objective knowledge can be doubted, or, at least, not believed.
a. relativism
b. speculativism
c. skepticism
d. incredulism
Answer: c. skepticism
45) Plato argued that there was a problem with the relativist position since the relativist would have to admit the truth of those who contend an opposite viewpoint. This is known as the ________ argument.
a. tautological
b. self-refutation
c. circular
d. self-annihilating
Answer: b. self-refutation
46) When I close my eyes the world disappears. This causes me to believe that I am the only reality that I can be certain of. Given this, which of the following would I be judged to be engaged in?
a. determinism
b. idealism
c. indeterminism
d. solipsism
Answer: d. solipsism
47) Some people believe that the only reality that one can be certain of is one's own self. The world cannot be shown to exist. This position is known as __________.
a. determinism
b. idealism
c. indeterminism
d. solipsism
Answer: d. solipsism
48) In Plato’s system, ______________ are abstract ideas—— pure, unchanging, timeless——and they determine those things that appear in the external world.
a. archetypes
b. essences
c. universals
d. forms
Answer: d. forms
49) According to Plato’s theory of ____________, the ultimate reality (what is really, truly real) is made up of abstract
ideas that correspond with the objects of the experienced world which are imperfect manifestations of it.
a. archetypes
b. universals
c. forms
d. essences
Answer: c. forms
50) Nativists argue that there are __________ phenomena that are present from birth and do not require experience to be obtained.
a. universals
b. primordial
c. foundational
d. innate
Answer: d. innate
51) The philosophic proposition called ______ holds that there are inborn (present at birth) factors involved in the acquisition of knowledge.
a. empiricism
b. nativism
c. determinism
d. rationalism
Answer: b. nativism
52) From the perspective of the skeptics, those who engaged in ______ were people who made claims regarding what must be considered indisputable truth, even though supporting evidence was lacking beyond their certainty of their belief.
a. pragmatism
b. absolutism
c. cynicism
d. dogmatism
Answer: d. dogmatism
53) An argument against the skeptic was the “argument from concept formation.” This was the contention that skepticism was based on the fact that the skeptic __________.
a. had to admit the truth of other people’s beliefs, even if contrary to their own
b. had to admit that ideas are not innate but must develop
c. terms referring to knowledge like “truth” or “falsity” required knowledge of the meaning of those terms
d. disavows the possibility of communication through concepts
Answer: c. terms referring to knowledge like “truth” or “falsity” required knowledge of the meaning of those terms
54) The skeptic did not trust the validity of the senses. The ________ argument, in challenge, proposed that if one did not trust the senses there would be no reason to act in any way.
a. solipsistic
b. sophist
c. non-intervention
d. inaction
Answer: d. inaction
55) To possess _________ is to be self-regulatory and selfdirecting.
a. agency
b. self-efficacy
c. efficacy
d. empowerment
Answer: a. agency
56) According to people who espouse __________, regardless of what one does, events will unfold as they were meant to unfold, to happen as they were meant to happen.
a. fatalism
b. indeterminism
c. inevitability theory
d. necessitarianiam
Answer: a. fatalism
57) According to the doctrine called __________, fate determines what will happen to one so one should learn to accept what happens with indifference.
a. hedonism
b. nihilism
c. agnosticism
d. stoicism
Answer: d. stoicism
58) The belief referred to as __________ holds that God permeates the universe, that God and universe are one and the same.
a. atheism
b. gnosticism
c. hedonism
d. pantheism
Answer: d. pantheism
59) Pantheism is the belief that _____________.
a. God is everywhere and in everything
b. God created the universe and then withdrew from it
c. human attributes can be characterized as belonging to God
d. God is a trinity-in-unity
Answer: a. God is everywhere and in everything
60) The proposition that one only has access to other people’s behavior and not their inner subjectivity is known as the _________.
a. solipsistic dilemma
b. problem of other minds
c. behaviorist fallacy
d. skeptic fallacy
Answer: b. problem of other minds
61) Leontiev made a distinction between _____________——a personal attitude toward something——and _____________ ——reflection of something independent of any subjective reaction to it.
a. meaning, sense
b. meaning, concept
c. concept, meaning
d. sense, meaning
Answer: d. sense, meaning
62) In his attempt to resolve the problem of the subjective differences between people in their interpretations or experiences of the world, Leontiev distinguished between ____________, the reflection of an object independent of any subjective reaction to it, and the personal attitude to an object or concept, etc.
a. conception
b. meaning
c. sense
d. reality
Answer: b. meaning
63) With the ________ method of testing scientific theory involves making a prediction from a theory and then noting whether the observations made match the prediction.
a. Duhem-Quine
b. hypothetico-deductive
c. deductive-nomothetic
d. deductive-nomological
Answer: b. hypothetico-deductive
64) ______________ realist theories propose that the senses provide impoverished information and are therefore an unreliable basis for the formation of percepts.
a. naive
b. direct
c. ecological
d. indirect
Answer: d. indirect
65) According to the hypothesis of _____________ realism, the act of perception is due to constructions that are based upon the mental representation of objects.
a. direct
b. immediate
c. indirect
d. mediated
Answer: c. indirect
66) A person who holds that one cannot know the world, only the world as it is represented in perception advocates which of the following?
a. indirect realism
b. phenomenalism
c. nihilism
d. rationalism
Answer: a. indirect
67) The theoretical position known as __________ maintains the proposition that ideas are the objects of knowledge rather than those things that produce the ideas.
a. phenomenology
b. representationalism
c. isomorphism
d. epiphenomenalism
Answer: b. representationalism
68) According to ____________, the mind does not have access to objects directly and that it is only through ideas in the mind that stand for such things that objects are known.
a. symbolic interactionism
b. significationism
c. representationalism
d. mediationalism
Answer: c. representationalism
69) A position that is comparable to direct realism is __________.
a. representationalism
b. representationism
c. presentationism
d. none of the above
Answer: c. presentationism
68) According to _____________, perception does not depend upon mental inference; it involves the picking up of information that exists in the immediate environment.
a. direct inference
b. unconscious inference
c. direct realism
d. unconscious perception
Answer: c. direct realism
69) The theory of _____________ proposes that the world that is represented in a person's immediate perception is the world as it actually is.
a. unconscious inference
b. direct realism
c. perceptual relativism
d. indirect perception
Answer: b. direct realism
70) J. Gibson referred to his direct perception theory as an ecological theory. Which of the following was his reason for the selection of that designation?
a. it focused on the neural basis of behavior
b. it considered the role of culture in perception
c. it emphasized the relationship of the perceptual system with the environment
d. it emphasized looking at the perceptual system under natural condition without interfering experimental manipulation
Answer: c. it emphasized the relationship of the perceptual system with the environment
71) According to __________ perception theory, one cannot separate the perceptual system from the environment in which it evolved.
a. evolutionary
b. ecological
c. Darwinian
d. indirect perception
Answer: b. ecological